Nickelodeon UK
Nickelodeon (or Nick for short) is a British television channel available on Sky Digital, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV and UPC Ireland. The channel was launched on 1 September 1993. Although one of the oldest children's channels in the United Kingdom, it was not the first (the oldest, The Children's Channel, which started in 1984, is now defunct). History Launched on September 1, 1993, encrypted as part of British Sky Broadcasting's Sky Multichannels package and airing (initially) from 7am to 7pm each day, Nickelodeon shows both cartoons and live action series. The channel originally had a transponder to itself on the Astra satellite, and whilst off-air would show testcards (which usually had schedule information) or pages from NickText, the channel's teletext service. On cable, it was up to the operator which channel it would timeshare with, which caused problems whenever Nickelodeon extended its hours. The channel timeshared with the Paramount Channel (later Paramount Comedy Channel, now Comedy Central) after its launch in 1995. The channels are separate on the digital satellite and digital cable platforms, though still share on some analogue cable services. There was also a segment called "Pirate TV" which had the presenters give the impression that they were going to have a closedown early. They played the closedown ident but about a minute later Nickelodeon was on the air again. There were no live presenters from the channel's launch, but eventually Nick Alive! was introduced, which featured live links between shows, often consisting of just a single presenter and the invitation for viewers to take part in phone-ins. With time, these live links were moved to bigger studios, where people were now invited down to the studios to take part in the live broadcasts, which were given various names over the years. When Sky Digital launched in 1998, Nickelodeon was in the original channel line-up on Astra 2A, and the channel's closedown was moved from 7pm to 10pm for digital satellite viewers. It continues to timeshare on analogue. Nickelodeon was also in the ITV Digital lineup, until the service closed down in 2002 and was replaced with Freeview. Nickelodeon Ireland In 2004, Nickelodeon launched a separate stream for viewers in the Republic of Ireland - Nickelodeon shortly after Nick Jr Ireland was launched in 2006. Nickelodeon availability Nickelodeon UK is also available on Top Up TV allowing viewers to access a selection of programmes including SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Drake & Josh as well as Dora the Explorer and LazyTown. Nickelodeon Ireland is available through UPC Ireland, Sky Ireland, Magnet Networks and SCTV Digital. Ownership The British Nickelodeon channels are operated by Nickelodeon UK Ltd., a private limited company that is a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting and Viacom, the ultimate owners of the Nickelodeon branded channels in the USA. Unlike in America, there is little (if any) operational connection to the European MTV channels, which are run by MTV Networks Europe. British Sky Broadcasting owns 40% of Nickelodeon UK. From 1995, there was an operational connection to the The Paramount Channel, which was launched by the Paramount UK Partnership, another joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting (25%) and Viacom (75%). The channels shared transponder space as well as offices, though they now they have separate offices and each operate multiple channels that no longer share bandwidth. Current Spin-off channels Nick Replay On 1 September 1999, a 1 hour timeshift of Nickelodeon was initially launched on Sky Digital. Nick Replay is available on Sky Digital and UPC Ireland 605 and Virgin Media 713. Nick Jr. On 1 September 1999, Nick Jr. was launched on Sky Digital, which shows programming aimed at pre-school children, pre-school programming was previously shown during the daytime on the main channel, but this strand has long since been dropped (though it was reintroduced briefly during 2005). Nicktoons On 22 July 2002, Nicktoons shows Nicktoons cartoons, as well as other cartoons, throughout the day. On 31 October 2005, Nickelodeon and Nicktoons extended their hours to 05:00 - 23:00, and Nick Replay extended its hours to 06:00 - 00:00. Teleshopping began broadcasting on these channels outside of regular transmission times, as well as on Nick Jr. 2 Prior to this, these channels had shown a test card, logo slide or promo loop during the off-air hours. Nick Jr. originally timeshared with MTV Dance when that channel launched in early 2001, though this ceased some time ago, with MTV Dance having gone 24 hours since then. SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly Odd Parents are part of the Nicktoons company. Nick Jr. 2 On 24 April 2006, Nick Jr. 2 was launched. It broadcasts Nick Jr. shows on a different schedule to the main Nick Jr. channel. Nicktoons Replay On 1 August 2009, a 1 hour timeshift of Nicktoons was launched on Sky 630. The timeshift channel replaced the Nicktoons spin off sister channel Nicktoonsters, which closed the day before. Defunct Spin-off channels Nicktoonsters On August 18, 2008, Nick Toonsters was launched. It broadcast some old Nicktoons shows such as Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys and Hey Arnold!. Its licence first appeared on the Ofcom website in September 2007 (initially named "Nick Toonsters", this was changed to Nick Replay on 1 August 2009).Licence Details for Nicktoonsters The channel closed on 31 July 2009 and was replaced with a 1 hour timeshift of Nicktoons, Nicktoons Replay on 1 August 2009. Nickelodeon Presenters Current Presenters * Olly Murray (July 2009 -) http://microsites.nick.co.uk/teenick/ * Nathan (October 2009 -) Former Presenters * Rick Adams * Mike McClean * Myk Scarlett * Nigel Mitchell * Malcolm Bird * James Gilbey * Matt Brown * Lucy Alexander * Eddie Matthews * Robin Banks * Helen Chamberlain * Simon Amstell (1998) * Dave Benson Phillips * Kara Tritton * Sarah Cawood * Lisa Brockwell * Oliver Clark * Leon Campbell * Elvis (computer generated puppet) * Bert the Fish (computer generated puppet) * Mounya Khamlichi, aka "Moo" (1994 - November 2001) * Jonathan Thompson (1998) * Dave Berry (November 2000 - November 2002) * Rude (puppet, left December 2002 but briefly returned during Summer on Nick (2008) for a sketch called 'Big Bother') * Bogey (puppet, left March 2003, returned for a week in July 2003) * Rani Khanijau (January 2002 - December 2003) * Yiolanda Koppel, aka "Yolly" or "Yoo" (1994 - August 2004) * Michelle Barber (April 2001 - August 2004) * Aidan Power (March 2003 - August 2004) * Nigel Clarke (March 2003 - August 2004) * Rose Omari (March 2003 - August 2004) * Teressa and Claire (2005) * Beth Palmer (January 2005 - October 2006) * Ed Petrie (January 2005 - August 2007) * Mark Felgate (January 2005 - August 2009) * Sy Thomas (October 2006 - August 2008) * Laura Hamilton (October 2006 - August 2008) * Ross Lee (September - December 2008) Nickelodeon's UK Kids Choice Awards 2007 The 2007 US Awards show was aired on Nick UK on 14 April 2007. The KCA's usually air in the UK shortly after they are broadcast in the US. But for the first time Nick UK made their version of the KCA's. It was broadcast from London's ExCeL Exhibition Centre, Docklands. The awards were held on 20 October 2007 and were shown on Nick UK a week later on 27 October 2007 and were repeated many times during that week. Nickelodeon did a competition where four lucky winners would be able to carry a 'blimp' (the Nickelodeon award) up on stage and present it to a winning celebrity. UK pop band McFly presented the ceremony. 2008 The 2008 UK Kids Choice Awards were held on 13 September 2008 at London's ExCeL Exhibition Centre, Docklands. The awards where shown on the channel a week later on 20 September 2008 with other 4 million votes being cast. The X Factor judge Danni Minogue presented the ceremony. Current Programming * The Amanda Show * Baby Potter: The Series * Bat Baby: The Adventures of Bat Baby and Robin * Bat Baby: The Series * Cave Party * Drake & Josh * Fairly Odd Parents * * Genie in the House * H2O: Just Add Water * iCarly * Just Jordan * Kenan & Kel * King Arthur's Disasters * * Laugh Out Loud * The Mighty B! * Mr. Bean: The Live Action Series * My Parents are Aliens * The Naked Brothers Band * Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide * Ryan & Isabella: The Series ''* * ''Renford Rejects * Rugrats (Early mornings, weekend only. Also airs on Nicktoonsters) * Sister, Sister * The Sleepover Club * Space Goofs * Shuriken School * * SpongeBob SquarePants * * Three Friends & Jerry * * Unfabulous * Zoey 101 * - Also airs on NickToons. Former Programming 0–9 * 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd A * AAAHH!!! Real Monsters * The Adventures of Pete & Pete * The Adventures of Roco & Abyss * The Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius * The Adventures of Uniqua & Pablo * All Grown Up! * All That * Alvin & The Chipmunks * The Angry Beavers * The Animals of Farthing Wood * Animal Crackers * Animorphs * Are You Afraid of the Dark? * Arthur * As Told by Ginger * Avatar: The Legend of Aang (Note: known as Avatar: The Last Airbender in the US and most other countries) B * Baby Backyardigans * Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. * Bay City * Biker Mice from Mars (1990s series) * Blossom * Blue's Clues * The Brothers Garcia C * California Dreams * Capitol Critters * Cardcaptors * CatDog * Catscratch * CBBC On Nick * ChalkZone * Clarissa Explains It All * Complete Savages * Cousin Skeeter * Count Duckula D * Danny Phantom * Darcy's Wild Life * Denver, the Last Dinosaur * Dora The Explorer * Doomsday: The Series * Doug * Driven Crazy * Dr. Zitbag's Transylvania Pet Shop E * Extreme Ghostbusters F * Ferris Bueller * The Ferals * Fraggle Rock * Furby G * Galaxy Squad * Get the Picture * Girls In Love * Gilmore Girls * GUTS * Guys Like Us H * Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw * Hey Arnold! * Hey Dude * Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi I * Instant Star * Invader Zim J * The Journey of Allen Strange * Jumanji L * ''Lou & Mina'' K * Kappa Mikey * Kablam! * King M * Magic School Bus * Martin Mystery * Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action * Mighty Max * Moesha * Mona the Vampire * The Monkees * Mr Magoo * Mr. Bean - The Animated Series * Mr. Meaty * Muppet Babies * My Brother and Me * My Dad The Rock Star * My Life as a Teenage Robot N * Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys * Naturally, Sadie * The Nick Cannon Show * Noah Knows Best * Nestor and Quest * News Flash O * Oscar's Orchestra * The Odyssey * Out of Control P * Papa Beaver's Storytime * Press Gang R * Raising Dad * Redwall * The Ren & Stimpy Show * Ricky Sprocket * Rocket Power * Rocko's Modern Life * Romeo * Roobarb * Rotten Ralph * Round the Twist * Rude Dog and the Dweebs S * Sabrina, the Teenage Witch * Santo Bugito * Save the Day * Saved by the Bell * Saved by the Bell: The College Years * Scaredy Camp * The Secret World of Alex Mack * Salute Your Shorts * Ship to Shore * Slime Across the UK and Ireland * Space Cases * Speed Racer * ''Spider-Man & Friends'' * Spider-Man: The New Animated Series * Stickin' Around * SuperTed T * Taina * Tales from the Cryptkeeper * Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles * The Funnyman Boogeyman Show * Trulli Tales * Tube Mice * Tucker * Two of a Kind U * Ultraman * USA High W * What I Like About You * What's New, Angels? * Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? * Wishbone * The Wild Thornberrys * Wonder Pets * Winx Club * The World of David the Gnome * The Worst Witch X * The X's Y * Yu-Gi-Oh! Nickelodeon Movies The channel doesn't air movies daily during the school period, unlike its rival kids' channel Disney Channel UK, which does. In the kids' school holidays Nickelodeon normally airs movies with the slot being branded NickMovies. Programming Blocks Programming on Nickelodeon UK has often been segmented into blocks. These have included: Morning blocks *''Rise and Slime'' - (?) *''Dawn Patrol'' - (?) *''CBBC on Nickelodeon'' - (1996–1999) *''Get Up!'' - weekends (?) *''Bedroom Bedlam'' - weekends (?) *''Nick AM'' - (?, existed 1996http://nick.co.uk/stunt/10birthday/y1996.aspx) *''Nicktoons Breakfast Feast'' - (?) *''Nicktoons TV'' - (1998-?) *''Nick Jr.'' - weekday mornings, featured programming for pre-school children, replaced by a dedicated Nick Jr. channel (?-1999, 2005) *''Nick Juice'' - weekday mornings, 7am to 9am (?-2002) *''Weekend Juice'' - weekend mornings, 7am/9am to 12pm/2pm (?-2002) *''SLAM!'' - weekend mornings, 7am to 9am, featured animated action series (2002–2004) *''You're Nicked'' - weekday mornings, 7am to 9am, featured a presenter & crew 'invading' a viewer's home before school (2002–2004, latterly became a programme in its own right) *''The Crunch'' - aired weekday mornings, 7am to 9am (January 2005 - 2006) Each day had a different set of children who were called the 'kidcrew', who signed up to be on the show, and played studio games. The programming block aired animated shows / live action series. *''Control Freaks'' (2005) Children competed in a series of challenges live on air, with the two presenters. Included cartoons such as SpongeBob SquarePants. *''The Crunch - Summer Sizzle'' - (Summer of 2005) *''ME:TV'' (2006–2007) Features live presentation, and four kids with their webcams help the presenters to introduce shows, but only one of the four children can do this, so they have to compete with the other children in challenges live on air. This programming block airs on half-term holidays. 'ME:TV' was a big success with UK viewers. Nickelodeon US, later picked up the show's format. The block was originally presented by Ed Petrie and Sy Thomas. 'ME:TV' returned in the lead-up to the first UK Kids Choice Awards (October 2007), and was presented by Mark Felgate, Sy Thomas and Laura Hamilton. *''Slime Across the UK and Ireland'' (Summer 2007) aired 11am to 1pm, 2nd to the 5th week of the summer holidays, presented by Ed Petrie and Sy Thomas in the studio. With Mark Felgate and Laura Hamilton touring the UK and Ireland. *''Summer on Nick'' (Summer 2008) aired from 11am to 1pm from the 2nd week of the Summer holidays. It was presented by Sy Thomas, Mark Felgate and Laura Hamilton. All 3 presenters were usually in the studio. Celebrity guests were regularly featured and the main contact with viewers was through the Nickelodon website. Features included 'Dare the Presenters', 'What The Heck are They Talking About', 'Topic of the Day' and more. Programming during this slot was iCarly, Drake and Josh and SpongeBob SquarePants. There was also a parody of Big Brother entitled 'Big Bother'. *''Ross Lee's Ghoulies'' (28 September - 13 December 2008) 13-part series, airing each Sunday morning from 10am to 12pm. Ross Lee invited viewers to his manor, with spooky tricks and celebrity guests. Included popular Nickelodeon shows such as iCarly. Afternoon blocks *''NickALive!'' (1994–1997) *''Lunchtoons'' - daily, 12pm to 2pm, featured animated series (?-2002) *''SNICK'' - weekend evenings, 7pm to 10pm (?-2002) *''Nickelozone'' - weekends, 2pm to 7pm, featured double episodes of mainly live-action shows (1999–2002) *''Nick in the Afternoon'' - (?) *''Nick PM'' - (?) *''Nick NOW'' - (?) *''Nick L8R'' - weekdays, 3:30-5pm to 7pm, featured live studio presentation (2000–2004) *''Thank Nick It's Friday'' - Fridays: **(2000–2004), 3:30pm/4pm to 7pm, featured live studio presentation (2000–2004) *''The 4 til 6 Show'' - presented by two of the 'Big Nick Pick' presenters Claire & Teresa, in a tiny studio, they introduced shows, however this only lasted one week in the children's half term holidays. The two presenters have never been seen on Nickelodeon since, unlike the other 'Big Nick Pick' presenters (2005) *''The Crunch!'' - had a short period in the afternoons. Details above, in Morning Blocks (2006) *''NickHeads'' - (2006–2007) the first series aired for a short period in the 4-6pm slot, presented by Mark Felgate and Laura Hamilton. The second series returned on June 4, at 4-6pm, with Mark and Laura 'back with popular demand' with the run finishing on June 22 (2007). TEENick - Started on July 20, 2009, and presented by Olly Murray and Nathan from 5pm to 7pm Changes In 2004, Nickelodeon cancelled all live presentation. With them saying the programmes are taking a break. All current presenters at that time were axed. With other kids' stations such as Disney Channel UK, CITV and later CBBC, following suit, mainly as a cost-cutting exercise. Later in January 2005, Nickelodeon brought back 'live' programming, but not as much in the past. Until Summer 2009, there was no live presentation apart from in the summer where the Nickelodeon presenters travel to various locations in the UK. Currently to today, Nickelodeon launched the UK version of TEENick. It is currently broadcasts live in the weekdays, but doesn't broadcast live in the weekends. Nickelodeon Specials Over the years Nick have had many special programmes. *''Red Hot Lobster Tour/Nick on the Road'' (1996–2004) Hosted by the various Nickelodeon presenters over the years, Nickelodeon toured the UK during the summer holidays setting up a large stage at the destinations they visited. They had a large TV screen, broadcasting the Nickelodeon channel with shows such as Saved by the Bell and SpongeBob SquarePants airing. The presenters would interact with the audience of children and play games with them. *Hall of Fame - During August 2006, Nickelodeon aired classic Nick shows such as Taina, The Brothers Garcia, Pete & Pete,Renford Rejects and Cousin Skeeter for an hour every day. Viewers were also given a chance to vote for their favourites on the Nickelodeon websitehttp://www.nick.co.uk/whatson/halloffame.aspx. *Paint Your Town Orange - Summer 1995. A series of many short films (around 3 minutes in length), where viewers showed off the best aspects of where they live. Children acted as presenters in this programmes, and also recorded advert bumpers for the network, which were also screen throughout the summer of 2005. *Coast to Coast - Summer 1996. A series of 30 minute episodes tracking 8 Nickelodeon viewers as they travelled from the east to west coast of the USA. The programme featured 2 Nickelodeon viewers from England, as well as 2 from Scotland, 2 from Germany and 2 from Australia. Involved in the production of the programme was Kate Humble, who now co-presents the BBC show Animal Farm. *Nick-A-Lottery - 1995-1996. Cable or satellite subscribers were sent a 'Nick-A-Lottery' card, a plastic card with numbers printed on. Presenters regularly gave out numbers which if matched with the numbers on the card would entitle the viewer to win a prize, if they could claim within a very short amount of time. After matching the numbers, the viewer had to immediately call the channel's regular freephone number 0800 801 801. This was often engaged even before the Nick-A-Lottery started, so potential winners had difficulty in claiming a prize. Nickelodeon: Outta Control In 1997, Alton Towers opened an attraction in conjunction with Nickelodeon. There were several rooms, each with its own theme. Upon leaving, you were played back a recording of your journey around the attraction. It closed in 1998, due to the attraction not having a suitable throughout for a park of Alton's size.http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/history/oldrides/nickelodeon.htm. References External links *Nick.co.uk - Official website *Nickelodeon: Outta Control *Nickelodeon UK listings and schedules *Guide to channels broadcasting on Astra satellites *Guide to receiving Astra satellites See also * Nicktoons (UK & Ireland) (Nicktoonsters is only in the UK) * Nick Jr. (UK & Ireland) * Nick Jr. 2 Category:Nickelodeon Category:Children's television networks Category:Viacom International Media Networks Category:Sky plc Category:British television networks